Untangled at last, scientists get to the root cause of a bad hair day

Apart from the deep psychological effects for the unfortunate wearer, there is a £30billion industry out there desperate to prove it can prevent such disaster.

Which is why scientists are so pleased that their latest study is, shall we say, a cut above the rest.

Heads up: Scientists say their analysis could bring an end to the bad hair days

The researchers have completed the first microscopic analysis of how individual hair fibres rub together.

The results, they believe, could eventually help banish everything from bed head to split ends by providing the key to the next generation of shampoos, conditioners, and other products.

The German scientists' breakthrough came after they discovered how to measure the silkiness of each individual hair using an atomic microscope which measured to a billionth of a metre.

The microscope can examine the atoms in each strand of hair, and the chemical and physical forces produced as they interact with each other.

Eva Max, a doctoral student in chemistry at the University of Bayreuth and co-author of the study, said: 'Given all the new hair treatments out there, there's a growing need to make hair feel more natural.

'For the first time, we present an experimental setup that allows measuring the subtle forces, both physical and chemical, that arise when single hairs slide past each other or are pressed against each other.